Monday, February 24, 2014

Dear Family,

Hope everyone is having a great Monday! I am. Sorry, I won´t be able to send pictures this week, but I´ll be sure to send some in a letter or next week in the email.

I´m doing really great. I´m still on a spiritual high from Saturday. Elder David F. Evans from the 1 quorum of the 70 and Missionary Dep. came to São Paulo on Saturday. It was incredible. It was the leadership of 5 missions. North, West, South, East and Interlagos and the mission presidents. He stayed in Pres. Pinho´s house. Sister Tanner is a former General Young Womens President, and she was there too. Her husband is the president of São Paulo, South. It was 3 and a half hours of Elder Evans. He told us that he had come on special assignment and explained a lot about the office of a 70 and apostle, and then he laid down the law. It was really, really good. He talked about the Work of Salvation, he talked about our full purpose as missionaries and especially about the FAMILY. I think that Brasil has had trouble with retention for a very long time. He taught us very clearly that our purpose is not only to find, teach and baptize. We are to help our investigators and members make it to the temple. He read a lot from the Family: Proclamation to the World. (Which he said will probably be in the scriptures soon) And said that the seperating factor of us and the world in the last days will be the family. We will be a peculiar people because of the family. 

I´m so grateful that my family will be eternal and I love all of you so much!

Elder Barker

 

Monday, February 10, 2014

Dear Family,

I got the call last night that I´ve been transferred. It surprised me a little, but I think I´ve been in Parelheiros about 4 months. I´m sad to have to leave, this has been a great area. I´ve learned so much here. I´m also going to have to miss a few baptisms that we have planned for this week. I might be able to come back if they choose me to baptize them. They are really special people, one is named Giancarlo. He´s a future bishop. He´s 57 and he is very intelligent. He stopped us in the bakery one day and asked about our church. He had already heard a lot about the church and said that everytime he passed by he had a strong desire to enter. He explained that it was like a type of ice cream that he knew was tasty and that he is hungry! He´s a funny guy, but has really taught me a lot. He showed up at church in a suit and everyone thought he was a representative from the stake... He´s already wanting to do missionary work and serve in the church. Sadly, his family doesn´t want anything to do with the church, but they will in the future. 

    The mission is the best. I´m excited and anxious for the future. I know the Lord has great things in store. I was called as a zone leader as well, so it´s going to be full of new experiences.

     I´m very grateful for our Lord Jesus Christ. I´ve learned a lot about His nature. I´ve felt real sadness for the choices that I´ve seen people make, but at the same time sincere joy for the great people that I´ve met. The gospel is something that heals, changes and really develops us as people. I´m so grateful for the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation. And I love all of you!

 

Have a great week!

Elder Barker

Monday, February 3, 2014

Hey family!

Blow out Superbowl? That´s lame. I think the only real Seahawks fan I know is Robinet at the high school.

My back has been great mom. It hasn´t given me trouble at all. But as for the package... The secretaries finally got a note that said it was waiting at the post office. (Sometimes the post office holds it there, usually when there´s something valuable) Anyways, when I got there they had already sent the package back to the U.S. So they told me I should make a complaint and they´ll send it back. So I´m in the process of the complaint still, but if it makes it back to you, you can keep it. Because I´m pretty sure it would be expensive to send again. But thank you so much!

Another new movie at the temple? What do you mean?

Our week was solid. We have an investigator that read the Book of Mormon in one week! His name is Emerson and he´s 22. He´ll be baptized this weekend. He was just a contact in the street that the Lord had prepared. He´s a great guy. 

I´m loving life. I love being a missionary. It´s hard, but it´s changing my life.

Transfer next week, I´ll let you know what happens!

Tchau, tchau!

Love you all!

Elder Barker

 

 

Monday, January 27, 2014

Dear Family,

Good to hear from you as always! I´m doing great. We´re seeing miracles in the ward, it´s been really neat. We had two baptisms this weekend as a result of reactivation. The mother is coming back into activity and we baptized her two daughters. It was really neat, now it´s just the father that needs to cut the coffee.

 The attendance has been about 150 these last few sundays, which is good for this ward. The ward has already passed the number necessary to split, but we need to reactivate a few more priesthood holders and we need more full tithe payers. But from what we´ve heard, when the attendance is 180, they can split the ward. So that´s what we´re working for.

I love the scripture Helaman 3:35 that says:
Nevertheless they did ^afast and ^bpray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their ^chumility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the ^dpurifying and the ^esanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their ^fyielding their hearts unto God.

I´ve learned a lot about yielding my heart to God. It´s not just about doing the right things, but doing the right things for the right reasons. I´ve really felt a change in my heart. Love you all and have a great week!

Elder Barker

Monday, January 20, 2014

Dear Family,

This week was hectic, which is normal. When Monday comes I can´t even believe another week has passed by. The Lord´s work is non stop. 

 Sounds like Bridger had a good learning experience for the mission. It´s good to always have a talk ready to go, because one day he´ll be on the mission and the bishop will show up and say, Èlder, the last speaker didn´t show up, can you fill in? And he´ll have to pull of a 15 minute talk. 

 Closed the Riverton Office? Has it been a good thing or a bad thing so far? Sounds like a lot of work for you mom.

 Where is Jemini going? I´m proud of him. And I can´t believe Jack will be getting home this week. 2 years is really a short amount of time. And it´s only 2 seconds in God´s time. I´m so grateful for the opportunity to serve. 

 Congrats for the missionary work, keep it up! You guys are awesome. I returned to Cipó on an exchange last week. It is really strange to go back, but we had a really cool experience. The Elders there are teaching a family that is passing summer break here. The Husband is doing some work and the wife and son just came along. It was a last second thing that they didn´t even plan. They didn´t even pack bags because it was so fast. Anyway, it wasn´t for nothing that they ended up here for the break. They stayed in the house of a member, who invited them to church. They had always heard bad things about Mormons, but they decided to go. They loved the church and went the next sunday, too. And it just so happens that they were batpized and confirmed this last weekend. They said that it was the most gratifying month of their lives´and that they´ll return home with something greater than they had ever imagined from this trip. 

 It was a testament to me that God has a great plan for all of us. Coincidences don´t exist, and if we´re worthy and diligent He´ll put us where we need to be.

Love you all, and hope you have a great week!

Elder Barker

Monday, January 13, 2014

Dear Family,

Sounds like a full week! Thanks for the report, Mom. Good Luck and be safe with alll those snowy roads. It´s been so hot here these last few days, you wouldn´t believe it. 

Busy, busy, busy. I feel like I ran non-stop the whole week. The new sisters arrived in Parelheiros. Sister Thornhill and Sister M. Silva. They both have less than two months here in São Paulo. We had a hectic day of moving into our new house and moving the Sisters into theirs on the same day. We arranged for some members to help them in these first few days before the get to know the area. I had a meeting in Santo Amaro and we had another meeting in Cipó with Pres. Pinho, so I feel like I didn´t even get to work in my area this week, but I really learned a lot. I´m seeing the importance of true conversion in missionary work. That this mission is really meant to change my life as well as my investigators. 

 I can´t believe Jack will be getting home next week. That is so crazy. And Ben Smith had told me about Brayden, that´s too bad. Hope he makes it back out.

I still haven´t gotten any packages, maybe Pres. Pinho is holding them.... No, just kidding. They´ll get here some day ;) But all is good. Love you all, and I bear my testimony that Christ lives and that the Atonement and His grace is sufficient for every one of us. Satan promised to destroy the world and he is fulfilling his promise, but we don´t have to worry, because Christ is on our side. We can have peace in a world of turmoil and sin, because He is the Prince of Peace. He will return and this world will receive it´s paradisiacal glory. Sou muito grato por este evangelho na minha vida.

Love, Elder Barker

 

P.S.- I heard Pres. Dalton lives in California and he graduated from Harvard.

 

Monday, January 6, 2014

Dear Family,

How´s everyone doing? Thank you for the pictures and everthing. I didn´t get the packages yet, but I´m anxiously waiting! I didn´t get transfered, but I received a new companion named Elder Loredo. He´s from Nicaragua and he´s the first missionary from Nicaragua to serve in Brasil. He´s awesome, and he´s been here six weeks, so I´ll finish his training. I also live with a new Elder named E. Castro, he´s from Ecuador. So my spanish is going to get good. The ward here is going to have us 4 Elders and 2 Sisters now. It should be good. The ward is excited. We´re just waiting to move this week so that the Sisters can move into our house.

Happy Birthday Mia! I can´t believe she´s going to turn ten. I sent a letter for her, so hope she gets it soon. I remember saying happy birthday to her from the MTC and that seems like yesterday. 

Oh Big News!

Elder Dean made it down to Brasil! He was Elder Steadman´s companion in the MTC, but went home for a while. And he made it back on the mission! He´s from Alaska.

Pres. Pinho also said that our new mission president already received the call to serve here. All I know is that his name is Pres. Dalton and I think he´ll be coming in June or July.

The new year was good, I was exhausted and didn´t even wake up for the fireworks. But they partied pretty hard here.

We are in the Cipó Zone now. The zone was divided so now I´ll be doing exchanges in Cipó again. It´ll be cool to go back every once in a while.

Love you all, have a great week!

Elder Barker

1 Corinthians 9:24- show this scripture to Jesse. It´s about winning!